Greenstone, Bone and Wooden Carvings from New Zealand. We offer you a great range of websites that provide greenstone
pendants and other jewellery. All carvings are done in New Zealand by local carvers. There are
many designs for sale including Fish Hook (Hei Matau) Twist (Crossover),
Spiral (Koru), Manaia, Tiki, Toki, Patu (Mere or Waihaka) and other
free-form carvings. Suppliers will ship to most world locations by
post, and will also courier items.

Selection of products that show Maori Art and Maori
Culture. There are a wide range of materials used including Pounamu
or Maori Greenstone (Maori Jade) as it is sometimes referred to. The
New Zealand Jade used for the Greenstone Jewellery comes from the
South Island of New Zealand. The Maori Weapons are mostly carved from
New Zealand hardwood such as Kauri. Some of the Bone Carvings and
other items incorporate the popular Kowhaiwhai patterns in their design.
We also have a selection of Maori games.

Maori arrival in New Zealand (Aotearoa)

The Maori are believed to have arrived in New Zealand somewhere in the
later part of the first millennium AD, coming from Tahiti or some other
part of eastern Polynesia. Archaeological evidence suggests that there
were probably several waves of migration over the period between 800 and
1300AD. Maori myth and legend describe their arrival from the mythical
Hawaiki by large ocean-going canoes or waka. There are several different
migration accounts and the members of the various Maori tribes or iwi
can identify with the different waka in their genealogies or whakapapa.

According to the Ngapuhi they sailed from Hawaiki and their journey was
aided by the gods in that the sun did not set for three days. A possible
reason for this claim is that their voyage coincided with the appearance
in the sky of the Crab Nebula Supernova which for several days was bright
enough to be seen in daylight. Chinese historians also recorded this event
and dated it to July, 1054.

The origin of the Polynesians has often been the source of much speculation.
Recent maternal DNA analysis indicates that the Polynesians, including
Maori, are most closely related to the peoples of east Asia. However there
is also evidence of at least cultural contact with the people of South
America. It has become clear that Polynesian seafarers were capable of
making very long voyages in some cases against the prevailing winds and
tides, and their navigation skills were very well developed. Several long
voyages have been made in recent times in traditionally constructed vessels
to prove this point.